The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organisation that promotes children’s rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries

REPORTS TO: Tigray Area Manager / Response Team Lead

LOCATION: Ethiopia Addis Ababa

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3 – the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

ROLE PURPOSE:

Save the Children (SC) is responding to urgent health, nutrition, protection, WASH, education, and food security needs in the Tigray region. The Sr. Response Manager- Technical will be responsible for driving the quality of programme design through to programme implementation and evaluations, and to ensure that consistent technical support for our teams in Tigray is provided. This role includes representation in relevant technical coordination forums, proposal development, line management of technical advisors for the response (as needed), and ensuring all SCI quality standards are implemented across response projects and activities. To ensure that the Ethiopia Country Office technical teams are engaged and involved in relevant project design, quality assurance and evaluations.

The role will require close collaboration with the response senior leadership, sector-specific technical staff, proposal managers, operations, and administrative colleagues. It will also require dedicated attention and commitment to training needs and institutional knowledge management given high levels of staff rotation.

Due to the rapidly changing context, the post holder will often be expected to work outside the normal role profile and will need to vary working hours and days accordingly. The post holder will be based in Addis.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Tigray Area Manager/Response Team leader. Dotted line to PDQ Director SCI Ethiopia Country Office PDQ Ethiopia Country Office

Staff directly reporting to this post: MEAL Manager and Response technical staff, as per team

Budget responsibility: None

Context: Humanitarian

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Programme Strategy and Development

• Take leadership on assessments, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a specific analysis of children’s needs
• Take leadership on designing and refreshing multi-sector response and recovery strategies, programme plans including sectoral log frames and programme master budgets, ensuring the highest technical expertise is represented in the same, and ensuring linkages with existing programmes and strategies
• Takes overall leadership in prioritising response sectors or funding where this is limited, in line with SCI Global Humanitarian Strategy, ensuring maximum integration between sectors where relevant and possible
• Take overall leadership on ensuring technical staffing needs (both national and international) for emergency programmes are met.
• Work alongside the team in Tigray and the PDQ thematic directors and response focal technical experts in Addis, to support on new programme design, develop proposals or review/monitor/evaluate ongoing programmes

Programme Quality

• Drive programme quality and support the Tigray team to implement quality assurance and quality control mechanisms are in place and relevant
• Work closely with the Country Office Technical specialists to ensure the development, adoption and roll out of programme quality systems, processes and tools are applied into the response projects.
• Work with the Response Team Meal Manager to ensure that the response has adequate and appropriate beneficiary accountability systems in place and that feedback is incorporated into programme design and learning disseminated to the wider sector.
• Ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Sphere Charter and Red Cross Code of Conduct.
• Coordinate with the technical teams and PDQ from Ethiopia Country Office, SC members, SC Technical Working Groups, and team to ensure that technical backstopping support is in place.
• Take the initiative in documenting lessons learnt, best practice and case studies to shape in-country strategies and programme approaches, and contribute to broader sector learning.
• Pursue relevant and strategic operational research and the development of evidence-based programming, in line with the national MEAL framework.
• Lead on organisational level programme policy, innovation, learning or representation initiatives in consultation with SC Member advisory teams
• Reporting and proposal development
• Ensure that all donor reports and internal reports are delivered on time and of a high quality
• Work with the MEAL manager to ensure that data flow is functional and all data elements to measure programme quality are in place and being applied
• Build consistent communication channels and technical support to Tigray Response through the CO technical sector teams
• Take overall leadership on response fundraising, ensuring the development of high-quality concept notes and proposals linked to the response strategy, and engage effectively with donors humanitarian advisers.

General Management

• As a member of a response Senior Management Team, play a leadership role in the overall management of the Tigray response
• Work closely with the DTL Operations to ensure that Technical Specialists participate in supporting as required, in the event of operational challenges in Tigray, for example, developing PRs for technical procurements
• As a member of the response Senior Management Team, demonstrate the behaviours that are consistent with Save the Children’s Mission, Vision and Values and ensure their broader application by staff across the response
• As a member of the response senior management team, ensure a conducive and productive work environment; implement Country Office workplace & diversity agenda for staff in the response
• Contribute to the wider country programme agenda
• Access global policies, procedures and technical resources which will support the country office technically or operationally
• Carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way which reflects Save the Children’s commitment to safeguarding children, in accordance with our Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding Policy.

Human Resources and Capacity Building:

• Line manage staff consistent with HR policies in the country office
• Oversee and support the delivery of capacity building plans to develop the requisite technical competencies in programme staff.
• Coach and mentor Technical Advisers and link into wider organisational talent development mechanisms.

Representation, Advocacy &: Coordination:

Where strategic, necessary and relevant, and where capacity exists, support the child protection and community engagement working groups, and health and nutrition clusters with technical and coordination support. This may involve fundraising as well as line management of cluster coordinators.

Work with the CO PDQ team to shape broader sector strategies at the interagency level through influence of and leadership within inter-agency coordination forums, ensuring that SC is “the voice of children” and that the specific needs of children are being addressed within the humanitarian response. This may involve representing Save the Children within Humanitarian Country Team fora.

The post holder will work directly with advocacy and media/communications and ensure the implementation of relevant child safeguarding, media and comms, and advocacy policies – in coordination with the CO Media/Comms team.

Working with the Response Team Lead and CD, pro-actively identify advocacy opportunities, case studies and research opportunities which link with wider organisational strategic objectives, and turn these into action

Play a leadership role in shaping communications and media priorities in line with programme priorities, acting as a spokesperson when required.

COMPETENCIES FOR THIS ROLE:

Delivering Results

Takes personal responsibility and holds others accountable for delivering our ambitious goals for children, continually improving their own performance or that of the team/ organisation.

Level required: Leading Edge

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Takes effective, considered and timely decisions by gathering and evaluating relevant information from within or outside the organisation.

Level required: Accomplished

Working Effectively with Others

Works collaboratively to achieve shared goals and thrives on diversity of people and perspectives. Knows when to lead and when to follow and how to ensure effective cross-boundary working.

Level required: Accomplished

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Minimum BA/BSc, and preferably a MSc/MA/MEng level in relevant areas of social development or equivalent

Minimum of 10 years experience in the required area

Essential

• Extensive experience of working within a senior management role within a complex country programme in an emergency response or fragile state
• Demonstrated ability for agile and adaptive working approaches and flexibility
• Previous experience of managing programme teams in large-scale and complex settings
• Previous experience of managing a large multi-sector, multi-national team
• Previous experience of programme management across multiple locations
• Experience of managing multi-donor, multi-site programmes (including ECHO, DFID and OFDA) of $5-10m, preferably in insecure contexts
• Commitment to staff development, mentoring and coaching
• Experience of senior level representation
• Experience of developing and negotiating successful partnerships with institutional donors
• Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proven ability to influence change at an operational and strategic level
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• A high level of written and spoken English
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
• Commitment to the aims and principles of SC. In particular, a good understanding of the SC mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support

Desirable

Media experience

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.